Manolo says, it is Friday and you are saying to yourself, “Huzzah! The weekend, she is here,” even though, technically, the weekend, she is not here, as you still have several hours of paid drudgery left to perform.

Still, what is required at this very moment is the little day dreaming, something to take you away from that which is oppressive and dull, to the glittering imaginary place where you are the Queen of the May!

I need a pair of really fun sandals to wear, something to help me get through the DC summer. I should mention that I’ve been told I’m a bit quirky.

Delilah

Manolo says, ayyyyy! Summer has officially started and it is officially the first big heat wave. How do we know this? Just this morning, on the television, the Manolo saw Al Roker melting into the puddle on the sidewalk outside the NBC studios, screaming over and over, “the fire! It burns, it burns!”

Or, perhaps not.

Every year, the residents of the Washington D.C. go through the same ritual: decrying the first intensely humid and heatful day , calling it “unprecedented”, as if the Washington summers had never before been hot.

“What’s this,” says the average newcomer to the District, “It’s going to be 95 degrees outside? Why was I not informed about this oppressive climate?”

Thankfully, we live in the age of ubiquitous air conditioning, when we can scamper from the house, to the car, to the office with only the few seconds exposure to nature’s blast furnace. And yet, strangely, these few seconds are enough to cause widespread lamentations among the citizenry.

So, what does the quirky girl wear when the weather turns hot? Something Hellenic (it is frequently hot in Greece), such as these marvelously amusing sandals, the Calypso from Ancient Greek Sandals. With these on your feets you would be impervious to fire!

“But Manolo, it is hot outside, and I do not need the leather ankle bootie.”

To which the Manolo responds, does not the fall follow the summer, like the night after the day? By which he means, this high-quality,classic leather bootie, selling at less than one-third the regular price (only $99.97!) is the bargain too good to pass up, especially if you are the forward thinking girl who can buy this and put it away for the next three months.

Manolo says, one secret to smart shopping is buying the shoes when they are out of season.

Manolo says, the Manolo’s friend, the delightful Virginia Postrel, has asked the Manolo to conduct the little impromptu survey. The question to be answered is: How Many Shoes Do You Own?

Paula Abdul Loves the Shoes!

For the Manolo, this is the exceedingly difficult question to answer. Indeed, the first problem is whether or not the Manolo should include shoes he does not, nor could ever, wear, such as the several dozen shoes which form the core of the Manolo’s personal “Historic Shoe Collection”. These are not so much “shoes” as “objets d’art” (or perhaps “holy relics”), and as such they occupy the special place in the heart of the Manolo.

Then, should the Manolo include in the count shoes which he has received through the mail as part of his career as the shoeblogger of note? He usually gives these away, but there are often several pairs sitting around. Does he own these shoes? Or, they as ships passing in the night?

Ayyyy! This problem, it is too complex! Let us just say that the Manolo owns many shoes, many, many, many pairs of the shoes. More one hundred, less than one thousand (maybe). In the other words, too many to count.

And, now it is your turn: How many shoes do you own?

P.S. Please be so kind as to leave your answers in the commenting section below.

$34.5 million dollars for looking drippy in Balmain and Ed Grimley’s hairdo; $34.5 million for affectless performances that could be better done by the department store mannequin with the midget inside.

At least the mannequin-midget would look good in the clothes.

Speaking of which, the Manolo does not wish to be harsh, but girlfriend does not know how to wear the clothes, indeed, she seems uncomfortable in anything that does not have the drawstring. Slouching, scowling, muttering her way down the red carpet, at one movie premiere after the next; woe be to the designer who thinks he has found the perfect celebrity showcase, for Kristen Stewart’s anti-glamour makes everything look bad.

But, on the plus side, unlike the last highest paid actress, she will not be stealing Brad Pitt away from his woman.

"The King of the Fashion Blogosphere" ~ Linda Grant

Disclaimer: Manolo the Shoeblogger is not Mr. Manolo Blahnik. This website is not affiliated in any way with Mr. Manolo Blahnik, any products bearing the federally registered trademarks MANOlO®, BlAHNIK® or MANOlO BlAHNIK®, or any licensee of said federally registered trademarks. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the author.